Number My Days
by Sunkist
Summary: In the end, you start to think about the beginning." The once whispers of Voldemort magnify into now piercing screams. This story, set in the first war, depicts the lives of the Marauders and their contempories from 6th year to Harry's 1st Halloween..


**A/N:** Opening lyrics from the song "End of the World" by Skeeter Davis. With the exception of Adana and Eldora the Black Family tree is composed of accurate information supplied by a "Black Family Tree" created by J.K. Rowling for a charity auction.

**Disclaimer:** This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

**Number My Days**

**Last Days - Epilogue**

"_Why do the birds go on singing?  
Why do the stars glow above?  
Don't they know it's the end of the world?_

_It ended when I lost your love…"_

Was that accurate? Had the world stopped? His chest lay heaving between splintered ribs and his own warm blood, gasping for oxygen like a dying fish on the sand. His fingers fumbled around him feeling - desperately, for any source of life among the debris. The moonlight spilled into the dilapidated home like a searchlight for the lost. Rolling onto his back, his breathing growing slower with each heaving gasp of night air, James Potter could not help but notice the fierce beauty of the stars above him. Pinpricking the navy sky, he felt as if heaven were just beyond that navy covering and the stars, tiny windows into what lay beyond. She would have loved to see this, Lily would.

He momentarily basked in the peace that only the dying know. He wondered why he even had these last few moments of existence. Was this eternity playing a cruel trick on him? Allowing him these last gasps of air to think about all the ways he had failed her - failed them. _Harry_. Tears burnt in the corners of his eyes as he thought of Lily meeting death alone. Quite the miscalculation on his part - dying this way. He had wanted to go out like a blazing flame, defending his wife and his child and this wizarding world. Laying helpless on the smoking living room remains was not quite the gallant exit from life he had been planning. He hoped Sirius would not remember to hold that over his head. Thinking of Sirius, James nearly laughed but instead found himself on the verge of hysterical sobs. Stifling all the emotion he could muster, all the what ifs and never answered questions, his thoughts became disjointed recollections of all the sunsets and all the Quidditch games and the way Lily looked on their wedding day and the way he felt when he held his son for the first time and saw nothing but his hair and Lily's bright eyes staring back up at him…

Godric's Hollow was eerily quiet as charred parts of the Potter home fell and collided with smoldering furniture ruins and the cold earth. Sirius Black tossed fitfully in his bed that night, entangled and smothered in his sheets until he could take it no longer and leapt into consciousness from his slumber, rushing into the night air. Remus Lupin lay awake with anxious pacing. Peter Pettigrew wandered dark streets aimlessly, sometimes weeping as his head gave twitching movements towards the sky - searching. And as the thundering motor of a bewitched motorcycle came above the distant black mountains like a soft purr among the still homes of Godric's Hollow, a baby cried out a long frightened howl, magnified by being the only living voice in the smoldering remains of a life never lived…

**Chapter One – Endless Days**

Lily Evans was having what one could consider 'one of those days.'

She left her Advanced Transfiguration book in her room, well, you could say she had "left it" but while practicing she transformed it into a mouse and hadn't been able to catch it. The spell supposedly wore off in a matter of hours but regardless that hadn't granted her enough time to catch him..it….him….the book, that is.

Her usually unruly hair decided that today it would really lose control and just break free from that entire "tame" phase it had been going through. So, in a sort of mid-life crisis fashion, each strand chose a different direction and went for it.

To top it off, she was very very late for Double Herbology with the Slytherins because of a certain disagreement with the Fat Lady.

"I am positive that the password is Flabbergasted!" she shouted, stomping her foot like an impatient child in a grocery line. "Now let me back in this bloody door before I kick it down!"

"No."

"You just watched me leave this very door you git!!!"

"Now, now Evans. No need to show fangs. We don't want you turning into Lupin on us," came the arrogant drawl of Severus Snape. _Oh Merlin, this day was destined for the crapper._

"Sev, shouldn't you be kissing the rear of an older Death Eater or whatever they're calling themselves now?! Can't you see I'm busy?" Lily cried with a long, exasperated, heaving sigh.

"Busy doing what? Offending this beautiful, luscious creature of a painting? A depiction of woman in all her intended glory? The gentle eyes and bosom of a Greek Goddess…"

The Fat Lady giggled and flushed from fleshy cheek to cheek.

_That's it. God has seen it fit to end my life today and I'm going to end this torment and crawl back into bed and wait for death to take me. The only problem being that I CAN'T EVEN GET BACK TO MY BED! _

In a deep swoop of his robes, Severus kneeled to kiss her hand upon the canvas…Lily thought she would vomit.

"Evans! EVANS!! You bloody prat! Go while I have her distracted!" Snape hissed between kisses.

Dumbfounded by his sudden, unprecedented kindness she continued staring.

"For head girl you sure are thick. You know that wasteland Potter would've gone by now."

He kicked her sharply and before she could reply she was knocked into awareness and launched through the portrait.

_Note to self: Thank Sev. Slap Sev. In that order._

Sprinting down the grounds, taking in sharp breaths of warm Spring air, Lily did nothing short of crashing into the Herbology green house.

"Miss Evans! Try entering next time with more composure than a Giant! Ten points from Gryfinndor for tardiness." Professor Sprout was laughing at her own joke as Lily rushed the table in the rear of the building where Adana Black and Remus Lupin stood smirking.

"I swear to you I don't want to hear it." Lily mouthed, siding up next to them.

"We were just commenting on the way your face collided with the glass door before you realized it was shut." Adana laughed.

As far as best friends go, Lily really couldn't have asked for a better companion than Adana Black. Her parents had named her Adana, meaning "Red Earth" because when she was born she came out fiery and howling and had not relented since. She was one of those people that could make you laugh when she wasn't trying. Her honesty usually was sufficient material for commentary amongst their small group of friends. She had the personality that never begged the question - if she liked you, you knew it and she was as loyal as she was fierce. If she didn't like you - spare yourself and keep your distance. Never fake. Never flighty and as strong as the earth she was named after she was one person in Lily's life that never faltered.

"If you knew the morning that I was having you would know better than to instigate a fight with me right now." Lily seethed.

"Easy Lily. We have enough venom to deal with from these Shucklepods without yours escalating matters." Remus said as he pried back the mouth of a disturbingly violent looking rose and brought a vial to it's _…tooth? Did it have teeth?!_

Lily stared open mouthed at the plant. "Why is this world so set on breeding house plants with fangs?"

"I love it." Adana laughed, "I love hearing how you think about things with that Muggle brain of yours."

Adana commonly found Lily's intrepretation of the wizarding world hysterical, as Adana had been raised in a noble pure blood home like the majority of her peers.

"I love how neither one of you are jumping up to help me extract this venom that could kill me." Remus sighed.

"Mr. Lupin! That venom is only life threatening if taken through the mouth! And you two will be more useful and productive if working at separate tables." barked Professor Sprout before shoving Lily and Adana to different mud-caked tables.

Lily surveyed the room for Severus and curiously wondered why he hadn't been down to the sheds before her… and why he was roaming around Gryfinndor tower to begin with.

Her thoughts were pierced by Adana's shouts of: "I'm NOT working with him!"

Standing adamantly away from Rodolphus Lestrange she held her arms tightly constricted agcross her chest glaring at Professor Sprout.

Taken aback and usually a very mild Professor, she narrowed her eyes.

"Black, Take your seat or take a Failing mark in this class."

Defeated, Adana slumped into her chair and positioned herself as far away from Rodolphus as feasible. Remus was fairing slightly better at a table with Peter Pettigrew and Hannah Cardie, who Peter was nervously holding the vial for.

Lily took her place next to Marie Abbott and Frank Longbottom and apologized for the mess she was making out of everyone's morning.

"These man killing plants are making the mess, not you." Frank said, throttling the rose while Marie held the pot in place.

At the first sign of struggle, the rose fell limp in Frank's palms and offered its fangs willingly. Surprised, Lily watched as he adeptly helped Marie angle the vial at a position not hurting or hindering the plant in any way and in an odd act of appreciation, the plant seemed to give more venom than any other she had seen thus far.

"Frank! That's amazing!" Lily cheered and Marie nodded enthusiastically.

"I like plants more than people." Frank laughed, "They're easier to read and manage."

"Yeah, I can see how strangling doesn't go over so well in real life social situations." Lily said as she took the full vial and labeled it for Marie.

"The nice thing about this technique is that it scares the plant but doesn't hurt it. I randomly figured that out after interning with a greenhouse next to the sea last summer. Apparently, aquatic plants just need coddled to comply and soil plants need startled." he blushed suddenly aware of his rambling.

"I think that's fantastic." Lily said honestly.

Marie clapped him on the back and handed him another vial. "You're brilliant, Frank."

"It was just luck.. Really." Noticeably redder now as he went on to his next vial.

With the exception of a hex launched at Rodolphus Lestrange by none other than Adana who irritably confessed: "He was standing too close!" the rest of the class continued with considerably more peace as the students began taking Frank's lead.

Professor Sprout released them out into the warm spring afternoon just seconds before Adana reached for her wand to hex Rodolphus again.

"Did you see how close he was to me? His breath is enough to put me over the edge let alone his disgusting greasy face being near mine. You should see the way he stares at my cousin Bella when she's home for holiday, like a starving lion after a gazelle."

"I never thought I'd hear you refer to Bellatrix as a gazelle". Lily laughed, noticing Severus was nowhere to be found.

"It was for dramatic effect not realistic comparision."

"Have you seen Severus anywhere? He was by the Fat Lady before class but never came down."

"Isn't that better; him not being around?" Adana said, readjusting her Herbology book under her arm as they wandered back into the castle.

"I don't want to see him or anything. I'm just wondering what he's up to. I really hate these people he's morphing into, Ad."

"You guys have bad blood because of him. He, excuse the pun, "severed the ties" between you both and he ultimately chose this way of life. I think he is destined to get wrapped up in that dark arts mystique those Slytherin idiots just love to worship."

If anyone understood Slytherin worship of -_that dark arts mystique- _ it was Adana. Raised as a pure blood member of the noble house of Black, she was submerged into the dark arts from an early age.

Her parents Eldora and Alphard Black had met in Italy while studying abroad and fell in love with one another to the backdrop of Wizarding Rome.

The couple had much in common, both apart of devout noble wizarding homes saturated in the Dark Arts as a way of declaring themselves better than muggles, both not as consumed with noble supremacy as their families and both studying abroad as a way of escaping planned marriages for them.

Although arranged marriages had long died out in the wizarding world they began to remerge amongst historical families as the Dark Arts and Pure Nobility began to cultivate a strong following. Although no formal agreement had been made with either Eldora, Alphard or their correlating suitors both sets of families expected them to marry into the decided family as means of preserving purity. Subsequently, marriage became more of a family debate and less of an individual choice.

Returning to upheaveal and chaos at the announcement of their plans to wed they returned to Italy to start a life free of the burden of their family heritage. However, fate stepped in as Alphard took a position with the Italian Government. A dark wizard, Debaise Vito, had been pining for the position of Prime Minister and developed a deeply deranged following within the government of those attempting to rebirth the ideals of Grindelwald and "The Greater Good."

More and more pure bloods took up allegiance with the strong movement to eradicate the wizards from muggle upbringings and turn Wizarding Italy into a leader that would start a war on Muggles internationally. Alphard Black being not only charismatic but also brilliant was an unmistakable asset to the campaign and as this silent following grew to a total upheaval of the government His brilliance at calculating others actions and opinions before they spoke ( as well as having many notable business ties ) led to him being hailed as a crusader of the dark arts and nobility.

Having never asked for fame, fortune or the reputation of a wizarding supremacist, Alphard attempted to thwart his reputation by leaving his position with the government and returning home to England.

The Blacks, however, regarded his vast, self made fortune and outstanding reputation among the darkest of wizarding families as a sign of repentance and welcomed him back with open arms. Eldora and Alphard Black, now safely disassociated with the fall of the Italian Government – that just a short month later was overthrown by the proper reigning leaders and, ironically, a vast deal of muggle born wizards- found safety and security with their newly approving families. With their young daughter only nine years old, security and a strong family seemed a necessity in a sharply contrasting world.

Of course moving just a few blocks away from his sister, Walburga Black, her husband Orion and her two sons, Sirius and Regulus had seemed a safe way to keep distance from his temperamental family while still giving Adana the freedom to travel between homes to visit her cousins. Even the best laid plans go astray though, as Adana's parents felt themselves being pulled back into a world where wealth, name and most importantly, blood, decreed your standings.

Adana, although raised in a much brighter, more loving home, still talked to Lily some nights about the cold way in which Sirius and Regulus were raised. She spoke of terrifying stories of her Aunt Blacks temper and the way the family revered the idea of supremacy amongst the wizarding world.

Chilled, Lily thought of Severus and his upbringing and couldn't help but think they were very similar.

"I just feel bad for him. We were good friends as kids."

Adana's eyes rolled behind her dark hair.

"Okay. We were _decent _friends until we got sorted into separate houses."

"Lily. He was awful to you after what happened with James and Sirius on the grounds."

Lily reflected on the memory of Severus floating upside down, mocked by Sirius and James. She remembered that burning anger in her as she came to his defense and then the malice at which he spit the word: "Mudblood" at her.

"I just feel like he never had a chance, you know?" she paused for Adana to listen. "He had a terrible family and now he's victim to the more powerful prats of Slytherin. All he wants is acceptance. He needs a good friend." she said sadly.

"You WERE a good friend to him and he threw you out at the first mention of noble blood rights. Come off it Lily. He's a lost cause."

The words felt heavy in her ears as she replayed them over and over again.

_lost cause_.

It just didn't seem fair. Severus had been a good friend to her when she had first discovered she was a witch. He had prepared her for Hogwarts and prepared her for the Wizarding world. She felt close to him as they entered the Hogwarts castle. Two brave eleven year olds against the world.

Then, just as Adana had said, he had turned on her. Hated her for being a Muggle. Hated her for being in the same house as James Potter and Sirius Black. Hated her for having two parents who could not figure for the life of them why anyone would name a school Hogwarts.

"Bubblewhistle." Adana yawned.

"Nice of _someone_ to observe changing passwords." The Fat Lady humphed as the two walked inside the Gryfinndor common room.


End file.
